9414. 'And Jehovah said to Moses' means instructions from the Lord for those restricted to the outward sense. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as instructions, when it includes the things stated after it that make up the instructions, as also in 7186, 7241, 7267, 7304, 7380, 7517, 7769, 7793, 7825, 8041 (the instructions come from the Lord because 'Jehovah' is used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6281, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315); and from the representation of 'Moses' as that which acts as the intermediary between the Lord and the people, thus the Word in respect of its outward holiness since this acts as an intermediary. The fact that 'Moses' begins now to represent this intermediary is clear from the train of thought in all that follows. For that people was restricted to the external level of the Word, and as a consequence their worship was external, separated from anything internal, see 9380. Those who are like this cannot have any holy contact at all with the Lord, let alone be joined to Him, except through an intermediary. This matter will be explained more fully below in 9419.

[2] The fact that this people was restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, and that as a consequence their worship was similarly external, is plainly evident from events that followed. After forty days they fell completely away, worshipping the golden calf instead of Jehovah. Also, because of this Moses at that time threw the tablets from his hand and smashed them; and afterwards he was commanded to hew some other tablets on which the same words would be written. The meaning of this was that this people were altogether unwilling to accept any teaching at all from the inward sense of the Word as it exists in heaven, only from its outward sense separated from the inward, as the Word exists with them in the world even at the present day. This also explains why that people were no longer called Jehovah's people but Moses' people, as in Chapter Exodus 32 further on,

Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go down; for your people whom you caused to come up from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. Exodus 32:7.

Also in Chapter 33,

Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go up from here, you and the people whom you have caused to come up from the land of Egypt. Exodus 33:1.

For this reason also they were subsequently removed from the mountain. And in Chapter 34,

No man shall come up with you, and also no man shall be seen on all the mountain. Also no flock or herd shall feed before this mountain. Exodus 34:3.

For 'Mount Sinai' means the Law or Divine Truth and the Word as it exists in heaven, and so heaven as well, 8399, 8753, 8793, 8805. The reason why Moses previously represented the Word in general, that is, in respect both of its inward sense and of its outward sense, was that there the subject was the declaring of the Law, by which the revelation of Divine Truth in general was meant. This was the beginning of the revelation, for all else in the Word was written later.

1745. That 'I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah' means the Lord's frame of mind is clear from the meaning of 'lifting up the hand'. Lifting up the hand to Jehovah, as is well known, is an action of the body corresponding to an affection of the mind. In the sense of the letter things that are interior, or belonging to the mind, are expressed by means of external things that correspond, but in the internal sense it is the internal things that are meant. Here therefore 'lifting up the hand' is the mind or affection of the mind.

[2] As long as the Lord was in a state of temptations He spoke to Jehovah as though to another; but insofar as His Human Essence had been united to His Divine Essence He spoke to Jehovah as to Himself. This is clear from many places in the Gospels, and also from many in the Prophets and in David. The reason is quite clear from what has been stated already about that which was inherited from the mother. Insofar as this remained He was so to speak absent from Jehovah; but insofar as it had been eradicated He was present with and was Jehovah Himself.

[3] The Lord's conjunction with angels may serve to illustrate the point: sometimes an angel does not speak from himself but from the Lord, and at such times he does not know otherwise than that he is the Lord; but at those times his externals are Lying dormant. It is different when the externals are active. The reason for this is that the angels' internal man is the possession of the Lord, and to the extent that things which are their own do not get in the way, it is the Lord's and indeed is the Lord. With the Lord however complete conjunction, or an eternal union with Jehovah, was effected, so that His Human Essence as well is Jehovah.